Roethke's Legacy Lives On

By Emily McGuire

Judges prepped for a night’s competition as students, teachers and citizens alike arrived at the Poetry Slam held in honor of Theodore Roethke centennial November 8.

Roethke, a Saginaw native, was renowned writer of poetry and literature. Born in 1908, Roethke grew to be a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan in 1929 and later won a Pulitzer Prize winner for his book, The Waking, in 1954, nine years before he died in 1963.

Poets recited personal works in tribute to Roethke’s life.

“If you look hard enough his reach, his influence, is still here within Saginaw,” second place winner James Ketterer said.

“With Saginaw [having such a] violent image, Roethke’s influence is easily overshadowed, but if you look for its there…if you actually look for it.”

Third place winner, Sue Nearing, said “It’s very inspiring to know that he is a Pulitzer Prize winner that comes from Saginaw…I really enjoy his nature pieces and it’s easy to relate to them.”

Poetry competitor, Mary Klouse, echoes this opinion.

“He’s just so inspiring. Knowing that he’s from Saginaw and with all he accomplished it really inspires me to strive to grasp for higher things. The more I’ve learned about him over this last year or so shows that he was a complex man who had many sides to his poetry…it just shows me more that poetry comes from outside, from the environment, and from within.”

Two participants were students of Annie Ransford who stressed the importance of keeping Roethke’s legacy preserved through the renovation of his house which still stands on Gratiot Avenue.

“Saving [his house] for the community, for citizens will bring pride and hope. It will be a community outreach…writing workshops for students are held in the house where students can come and write. It’s very powerful to write where such a decorated author wrote and constantly worked on his pieces.”

Ransford even promotes a scholarship entitled ‘Friends of Theodore Roethke’, in honor of Roethke, his family and the community in which they lived. 

“[The scholarship] represents a concerned group of educators, business people and writers in the Saginaw area who are committed to promote, preserve and protect the literary legacy of Theodore Roethke… who aim to honor him by restoring his family residences for cultural and educational opportunities which is designated as National Register of Historic Sites, National Literary Landmarks and recipients of a Michigan Historic Marker.”

The goals of this “group of educators, business people and writers” is to “bring a renewed sense of place through collective community memory pertaining to his life, to develop students’ understanding of Saginaw’s history through first hand, intergenerational experiences and to contribute to Saginaw’s historic records by collection oral histories,” Ransford stated.